Can you get a GOOD gaming PC at Best Buy?

[terminal2]

Upgrades to: 6600 Unlocked, R9 380 (4GB)
Note: This build assumes windows 10 is bought on Reddit for $20, Motherboard comes with free mouse. 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($256.89 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: MSI Z170-A PRO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($82.98 @ Newegg) 

Memory: G.Skill NT Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($34.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($45.88 @ OutletPC) 

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 380 4GB NITRO Dual-X OC Video Card  ($179.99 @ Newegg) 

Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($36.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($29.99 @ Newegg) 

Optical Drive: Samsung SH-118CB/BEBE DVD/CD Drive  ($12.99 @ Newegg) 

Total: $680.70

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

[soup]

  Did I leave anything out?

 

 

The knowledge to assemble the system

An all in one warranty

Troublshooting if something goes wrong (is it the MoBo, is it the processor ...)

etc

 

  There are a lot of advantages to buying pre-built (not everyone enjoys building or indeed knows how to build, yet they enjoy using a computer).

 Yes if you enjoy building, want something the shops don't supply WHY then build is the way to go  but I wouldn't say saving $28 on $900 is a good reason.

 

Oh and $20 for win10 that is  not from MS, is that really legal (not moral, legal)?

[NumLock21]

Let me just say I would not want this build I am going to list, I also think that $900 pre-built is complete garbage. A waste of money.

$23 cheaper than the OEM. Did I leave anything out?

No rebates:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($264.00 @ Vuugo) <<Just as fast as the 6400, maybe faster.

Motherboard: MSI H81M-E34 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($76.25 @ Vuugo)

Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($53.50 @ Vuugo)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.19 @ Vuugo)

Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R7 370 2GB PCS+ Video Card ($189.99 @ NCIX)

Case: Xion XON-310_BK MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($25.99 @ Amazon Canada)

Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($60.16 @ DirectCanada)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($128.00 @ shopRBC)

Keyboard: Logitech K120 Wired Standard Keyboard ($8.99 @ NCIX)

Mouse: Microsoft Optical Mouse 200 for Business Wired Optical Mouse ($6.00 @ shopRBC)

Total: $877.07

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-26 01:13 EST-0500

Yes, the wifi card, and to to do a fair comparison, it has to be skylake. Not haswell.

[stconquest]

Yes, the wifi card, and to to do a fair comparison, it has to be skylake. Not haswell.

 

There is room in the budget for the wireless card, and Haswell vs Skylake?  The 6400 runs at 2.7GHz, the 4440 runs at 3.1GHz.  There you go, the Haswell is faster(raw speed), even when you compensate for a 10% IPC boost on the Skylake.

 

It is more than a fair comparison. 

[stconquest]

The knowledge to assemble the system  <<Crap

An all in one warranty  <<Crap

Troublshooting if something goes wrong (is it the MoBo, is it the processor ...) <<Crap

etc

 

  There are a lot of advantages to buying pre-built (not everyone enjoys building or indeed knows how to build, yet they enjoy using a computer).

 Yes if you enjoy building, want something the shops don't supply WHY then build is the way to go  but I wouldn't say saving $28 on $900 is a good reason.

 

Oh and $20 for win10 that is  not from MS, is that really legal (not moral, legal)?

 

I would not spend the $900 on the prebuilt OR the $877 on that particular build.  Both are bad ways to budget a PC.

 

I had Windows straight from a retail outlet, what are you on about?

[soup]

 

 

I had Windows straight from a retail outlet, what are you on about?

 

I edited my post, but I had selected the wrong part, it should be " from MS (or their approved agents). "

 

Basically I am talking about getting Windows from non-approved sources and asking is this legal .  Baasically I seem to remember something about 'you didn't actually buy the software rather you bought a license to use it' so you couldn't(legaly) sell on your software .  I happen to think that morally it is yours but this is not the legal standing

[stconquest]

I edited my post, but I had selected the wrong part, it should be " from MS (or their approved agents). "

 

Basically I am talking about getting Windows from non-approved sources and asking is this legal .  Baasically I seem to remember something about 'you didn't actually buy the software rather you bought a license to use it' so you couldn't(legaly) sell on your software .  I happen to think that morally it is yours but this is not the legal standing

 

My build has a $128 Windows suite (legal and morally sound, lol):  http://www.shoprbc.com/ca/shop/product_details.php?pid=4300111

 

Again, I am not saying my $877 build is better.  I am saying the $900 prebuilt is not a deal in any way... and a waste of money.

 

[NumLock21]

There is room in the budget for the wireless card, and Haswell vs Skylake?  The 6400 runs at 2.7GHz, the 4440 runs at 3.1GHz.  There you go, the Haswell is faster(raw speed), even when you compensate for a 10% IPC boost on the Skylake.

 

It is more than a fair comparison. 

2 different architectures, it's a unfair comparison. You can do whatever you want to prove that DIY is cheaper by going with last gen parts, but from the consumer point of view, all they want is whatever that's new and won't care too much about ipc and other technical jargon. As all of my system are self built, except for laptops, even I have to admit that OEM beats the DIY, when it comes whatever they can thrown in for "free" such as the OS.

[FunkyFeatures]

Not bad price/performance. Considering you need Windows for $100, you have $520 for all components. 8GB RAM, I5 quad core, R9 370 - not bad IMHO

This including warranty and stuff...

[stconquest]

2 different architectures, it's a unfair comparison. You can do whatever you want to prove that DIY is cheaper by going with last gen parts, but from the consumer point of view, all they want is whatever that's new and won't care too much about ipc and other technical jargon. As all of my system are self built, except for laptops, even I have to admit that OEM beats the DIY, when it comes whatever they can thrown in for "free" such as the OS.

 

Okay. 

[NumLock21]

Okay. 

I did a diy build to be as accurate as that Asus OEM build, the only components I can't match up is wifi adapter, motherboard, keyboard/mouse, and obviously their custom case. I had to pick alternatives for that. The adapter, is a PCIe x1 that also supports wireless AC. Their motherboard has USB 3.1, but none on pcpp, Asus boards running the H110 chipset has it. One that does is the Asus H110M Plus, but it does not have a onboard mSATA slot. The one in the video (2:29) clearly shows securing points for a for M.2 drive, but it was never installed. The other things is, not sure if they still do, but in the past, I've notice that certain boards they make, difference between oem and retail is they will have different parts installed, even if both are the same model.

About $100 expensive than the OEM

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6400 2.7GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($253.19 @ Vuugo)

Motherboard: Asus H110M-A Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($86.48 @ shopRBC)

Memory: Kingston 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($58.46 @ DirectCanada)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($66.95 @ DirectCanada)

Video Card: Asus Radeon R7 370 2GB Video Card  ($207.08 @ DirectCanada)

Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($52.25 @ Vuugo)

Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($78.00 @ Vuugo)

Optical Drive: LG GH24NSC0 DVD/CD Writer  ($17.95 @ Vuugo)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit)  ($128.00 @ shopRBC)

Wireless Network Adapter: D-Link DWA-582 802.11a/b/g/n/ac PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter  ($39.99 @ Canada Computers)

Keyboard: Logitech MK120 Wired Slim Keyboard w/Optical Mouse  ($11.99 @ DirectCanada)

Total: $1000.34

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-26 13:43 EST-0500

The Asus board with USB 3.1

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/H110M-PLUS/

[stconquest]

I did a diy build to be as accurate as that Asus OEM build, the only components I can't match up is wifi adapter, motherboard, keyboard/mouse, and obviously their custom case. I had to pick alternatives for that. The adapter, is a PCIe x1 that also supports wireless AC. Their motherboard has USB 3.1, but none on pcpp, Asus boards running the H110 chipset has it. One that does is the Asus H110M Plus, but it does not have a onboard mSATA slot. The one in the video (2:29) clearly shows securing points for a for M.2 drive, but it was never installed. The other things is, not sure if they still do, but in the past, I've notice that certain boards they make, difference between oem and retail is they will have different parts installed, even if both are the same model.

About $100 expensive than the OEM

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6400 2.7GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($253.19 @ Vuugo)

Motherboard: Asus H110M-A Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($86.48 @ shopRBC)

Memory: Kingston 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($58.46 @ DirectCanada)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($66.95 @ DirectCanada)

Video Card: Asus Radeon R7 370 2GB Video Card  ($207.08 @ DirectCanada)

Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($52.25 @ Vuugo)

Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($78.00 @ Vuugo)

Optical Drive: LG GH24NSC0 DVD/CD Writer  ($17.95 @ Vuugo)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit)  ($128.00 @ shopRBC)

Wireless Network Adapter: D-Link DWA-582 802.11a/b/g/n/ac PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter  ($39.99 @ Canada Computers)

Keyboard: Logitech MK120 Wired Slim Keyboard w/Optical Mouse  ($11.99 @ DirectCanada)

Total: $1000.34

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-26 13:43 EST-0500

The Asus board with USB 3.1

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/H110M-PLUS/

 

Still as waste of money. 

[NumLock21]

Still as waste of money. 

How is it a waste of money? The diy build matches to the oem build as close as possible. Only difference is the diy has a longer warranty from the individual components. The OEM is all bundled up and just gives 1 year. I understand that getting a gaming PC for $1,500 with entry level gpu while, you can get a more powerful one for much less, is a waste of money. But in this case, "waste of money" does not make any sense.

[Aniallation]

1. Quality of the components. You can't have a valueGPU or CPU but that ram, heatsink, PSU, HDD is nothing to be desired. Quite often those components don't last as long as you buying Kingston RAM and a PSU that is at least 80+ Bronze rated

2. That case. I smell the thermal throttles from here. 

3. Windows licenses and bloatware. While advantages/disadvantages of buying OEM vs full are minor it's the other garbage you need to uninstall that comes with those pc's. 

4. I don't care about wifi in a tower. If i ever need it a pci wifi card from TPLINK is under 50$. 

1. When was the last time you had RAM fail due to old age? Considering that this is an Asus PC which is put together using mostly aftermarket parts anyways, it is more than likely using branded RAM such as Kingston and a branded HDD (do generic ones even exist?). Also, the PSU is a Delta unit which is pretty much the pinnacle of quality when it comes to OEMs. 80+ ratings mean nothing when it comes to actual internal quality of the PSU.

2. OEM case temps aren't as bad as you'd think

3. Asus have little bloatware on the PC aside from their own utilities, which isn't that hard to install.

4. A surprising amount of people do, and $50 for a WiFi card is still a lot.

[stconquest]

How is it a waste of money? The diy build matches to the oem build as close as possible. Only difference is the diy has a longer warranty from the individual components. The OEM is all bundled up and just gives 1 year. I understand that getting a gaming PC for $1,500 with entry level gpu while, you can get a more powerful one for much less, is a waste of money. But in this case, "waste of money" does not make any sense.

 

It is a waste because this is supposed to be a gaming rig.  You are much better off spending a little more and getting a decent mid-range GPU.  This is overkill for a web browsing machine, and underkill for a gaming PC; a.k.a. a waste of money.

 

I am not saying there is not a market for this, I am saying that it is not a good value; not for the $1000 spent (after taxes).

[vanished]

 

2. OEM case temps aren't as bad as you'd think

They can be... my friend had a computer a while back with a 9800 GT I believe it was in a crappy old dell case with like 1 80mm fan in the back.  It frequently overheated

[alextulu]

Is the warranty still voided, if you open the case ?

[Aniallation]

They can be... my friend had a computer a while back with a 9800 GT I believe it was in a crappy old dell case with like 1 80mm fan in the back.  It frequently overheated

My OEM lenovo case with a single 92mm on the back is keeping my C2Q and 6970 cooled surprisingly well

[Xupthree60]

Is the warranty still voided, if you open the case ?

 

I dont think they are puting void stickers on the case door anymore... even if they are you can remove it and purchase a replacement on ebay

[Xupthree60]

They can be... my friend had a computer a while back with a 9800 GT I believe it was in a crappy old dell case with like 1 80mm fan in the back.  It frequently overheated

 

older cases, especially dell, used to use a single case fan with a shroud attached to to cool the cpu, and no actual case fans to cool the case. It was a very bad design that  didnt cool the cpu adequately and didn the cool the other components pretty much at all... not to mention the likely-hood of a 80mm case fan failing and being your only sourse of cooling the cpu and anything else. 

 

but now days just about everyone has gotten away from that mentality and uses mostly consumer grade components (hell this system even had a non-reference gpu!) 

 

I knew off the shelf pc's had improved a lot but I didn't realize quite this much. I still stand by my findings though that cant get a comparable system for the 600-650 US this video claims in the US. I can tell you not form Best Buy and from Asus you cant. but i haven't looked at other manufactures. 

[vanished]

My OEM lenovo case with a single 92mm on the back is keeping my C2Q and 6970 cooled surprisingly well

 

Yeah I guess they've improved a bit since then.  His card basically created a basement with no ventilation in which the card ran by filling that plane of the case

 

older cases, especially dell, used to use a single case fan with a shroud attached to to cool the cpu, and no actual case fans to cool the case. It was a very bad design that  didnt cool the cpu adequately and didn the cool the other components pretty much at all... not to mention the likely-hood of a 80mm case fan failing and being your only sourse of cooling the cpu and anything else. 

 

but now days just about everyone has gotten away from that mentality and uses mostly consumer grade components (hell this system even had a non-reference gpu!) 

 

I knew off the shelf pc's had improved a lot but I didn't realize quite this much. I still stand by my findings though that cant get a comparable system for the 600-650 US this video claims in the US. I can tell you not form Best Buy and from Asus you cant. but i haven't looked at other manufactures. 

[alextulu]

I dont think they are puting void stickers on the case door anymore... even if they are you can remove it and purchase a replacement on ebay

 

And what happens if, I don't remove or replace anything, I just add something, like add an extra hard drive, or an extra RAM stick. Can I do that ?

 

I'm just curious because I haven't bought a pre-assembled in a long time.

[Xupthree60]

I have to give it to Asus, they are killing it with these pc's... while you cant get one in america with the same specs as linus, newegg does have probably an even better deal on one...
 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883221129
 
Normally $900, on sale for $750. This one upgrades to a I7 6700 (non k), 16gb of ram, 2tb hdd, and the same r7 370...
but the real kicker...
Free120gb SSD with purchase!
 
Now i can get close with a custom build but its hard... I cant get a 6700, just not happening, but you can get a 6400 with a z-motherboard thats overclockable, and with a slightly better version of the same gpu (4gb vs 2gb) but a 1tb hdd (vs 2tb) its about the same at 750
 
 
My prefered set up is replacing the 370 for 380
The total comes to $787. Downside being that does include $65 in MIR... Now this could be negated by getting a cheaper or free copy of win10 but not everyone can or wants to do that.
Upside being its more gamery looking and easier to upgrade. I love that it has a real case and modular psu vs a cheap combo with a poop psu.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
 
CPU: Intel Core i5-6400 2.7GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($183.88 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: MSI Z170-A PRO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($79.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($67.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($39.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($48.88 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 380 4GB PCS+ Video Card  ($159.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: Corsair SPEC-01 RED ATX Mid Tower Case  ($34.99 @ Micro Center) 
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($34.99 @ Newegg) 
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSC0B DVD/CD Writer  ($12.88 @ OutletPC) 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit)  ($87.95 @ OutletPC) 
Wireless Network Adapter: Asus PCE-N10 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter  ($9.99 @ Micro Center) 
Keyboard: Cooler Master CM Storm Devastator Gaming Bundle Wired Gaming Keyboard w/Optical Mouse  ($24.99 @ Newegg) 
Total: $786.51
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-28 10:41 EST-0500

 

To be fair i did include a keyboard and mouse, but I do think they are throw away peices no matter which pc you go with as I think most people using this kind of computer to game will reuse a keyboard and mouse or purchase better ones for gamming. 

[Xupthree60]

And what happens if, I don't remove or replace anything, I just add something, like add an extra hard drive, or an extra RAM stick. Can I do that ?

 

I'm just curious because I haven't bought a pre-assembled in a long time.

I don't see why not, worst case scenario is you just remove what you added when you try to do a warranty claim. 

[linuxfan66]

Im glad to see prebuilts are improving and showing that their buying power means manufacturing on mass(economy of scale) with oem parts pricing is cheaper/equal to doing yourself when they actually try.